Juan Vicente Gómez and the oil companies in Venezuela, 1908-1935

Notes:

Draws on the writer's doctoral and masters theses, notably 'British Oil Policy, 1919-1939', PhD, London University, 1985. Examines operation of expatriate oil companies in Venezuela, notably their relations with the government of General Juan Gómez and the Gómez family and other vested interests; socio-economic effects of companies and their activities in Venezuela; degree of controls exerted by the government; etc. Gómez ruled Venezuela as a dictator from 1908 until his death in 1935 by which time the Venezuelan oil industry had become strategically important both to the USA and Britain. 'This book examines 'the government's initial reaction to the new oil industry, the legal framework created to control and supervise it, the socio-economic effects, both locally and nationally, and the degree of control exercised by the government over the exploitation of its natural resource'. British businesses involved from an early date was Royal Dutch Shell